Telephone Booth
by Psychogoth
Summary: "Hi, you've reached Yoh Miyagi's personal line. Please leave a message and I'll attend to it as soon as possible" Click. It was Takatsuki Shinobu's 23rd call that day and he was running out of change- but this call was important.


**A/N**: Good lord, I've forgotten I even made this. I found this fossil. stuck in my laptop after a year I made it. If I can recall correctly, I was inspired by Payphone (Maroon 5) when I wrote this, it's not meant to mirror the song though. It only served as my beautiful, beautiful muse.

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"Hi, you've reached Yoh Miyagi's personal line. Please leave a message and I'll attend to it as soon as possible" Click.

It was Takatsuki Shinobu's 23rd call that day and he was running out of change. Tapping his left jeans pocket he desperately dug for any coin to make another call. The cold metal of his satchel clunked with the snow covered glass of the telephone booth. He sniffled; fighting back the tears that had threaten to fall again. With one more desperate attempt he looked through his wallet, pockets and any nooks and corners he might've missed inside his bag or jeans.

"If you're going to be like this the whole time we're here, let's just go home!"

"I don't care! This trip is already ruined anyway!"

With that, Shinobu slammed the bathroom door loudly, violently wiping the stray tears that rolled down his puffed cheeks. He sniffed and sobbed and whimpered—basically just broke down as Miyagi left their hotel room to find comfort in smoking a stick of cigar. The older one sighed, finding a spot on the lounge chair, just outside the balcony. He closed his eyes, appreciating the comfort brought to him by a drag of smoke. He pondered upon what happened earlier. Rethinking over and over again why Shinobu was such a sensitive little prick, always getting jealous and mad at the little things. He frowned.

The root of their argument was Hiroki Kamijou. Not entirely him, but the whole thing started at the mention of his name. Shinobu had been planning the trip to Hakkoda for months and this whole week was the only one where the two were available. The trip was supposed to be a five-day vacation for both of them. At first, Miyagi was all for the idea, later as they were already settled and relaxed for a day, he told Shinobu to cut it to about three days since he had to go back to university to help his colleague work on thesis approvals and course advising.

The younger was not thrilled with the idea, he even questioned Miyagi's decision as soon as he spoke of it,

"I don't get it at all Miyagi! I DON'T"

"Listen, you don't have to shout. Look, I'm sorry, I thought Kamijou can work at it alone but he couldn't… I need to go back so we could finish it by Monday and—"

"Kamijou…?" the blonde echoed, "Kamijou Hiroki? That associate professor of yours that you 'play around' with a lot? You're telling me you're blowing off this whole trip for him? HIM?! We haven't spent time together for months now and you would rather—"

"I wasn't finished talking yet and this isn't just about Kamijou, it's my job. If you've forgotten I'm a professor! I get paid for my job and that pays for that expensive apartment you want us to both live in"

Shinobu was awestruck, even hurt that Miyagi would mention it so sorely. He knew the older male wasn't thrilled of the idea living together much less buying an expensive penthouse-style apartment for the purpose, but he wasn't complaining is he? Not now. They split the lease and rent fifty-fifty. It was a fair deal and the expense wasn't the point. The point was they were now living together, they will have more time with each other, it might even be the solution for the seventeen year gap they're trying to fill.

Naturally, it made Shinobu upset. Meaning he said reckless and hurtful words towards Miyagi, "We split the pay—have you forgotten? Or maybe I should remind you? You agreed we'd both get it for OUR sake! For OUR relationship's sake! And that's not the point here, the point was you agreed with us staying for five days and changing it just because you THINK that your 'colleague' can't handle work alone is just bullshit, Miyagi! It's bullshit!"

Miyagi cringed, he didn't know what to say and his temper was not one to be held back once tested up. He spat the words "If you're going to be like this the whole time we're here, let's just go home!" without thinking, in which Shinobu bitterly replied "I don't care! This trip is already ruined anyway!"

They both regretted what they said, but they both felt that their piece of the argument was not wrong.

With this in mind, Miyagi puffed his last stick of cigarette that day and marched back to the room, surprised to see Shinobu already packing his clothes. Without any other words of acknowledgement he passed by Miyagi telling him that he'd just wait for him in the car.

'Well there's no use arguing with him now, is there?' sighing once more, he shifted what seemed to be a heavy weight dawning on him and he started packing.

The ride was awful; on top of that, the windshield wiper did no good against the heavy snowstorm. And as if it wasn't enough, the silence was eating them both. Each one absorbed in their own thoughts, trying to fight the urge to say sorry first, make up and head back to avoid the terrible clumping of snow.

Deciding that he'd much rather talk than linger in awkwardness, Shinobu broke the silence, "it's not like I don't understand…"

Miyagi flinched, surprise by the sudden action, "I do… it's just that I don't think you understand how it's so hard for me to accept that you'd much rather spend more days with Kamijou than with me"

"I don't, but work is work and leaving him with all of it is unfair."

"Why?"

"Because he's my coworker and friend, naturally I'd look out for him, the way he does for me"

At this, Shinobu's final straw had been drawn.

"Fine! Then just be with your precious Kamijou that you always flirt with!"

Miyagi was just as much as frustrated that he snapped his attention to the young man in the shotgun seat, "now wait a minute, you take that back or I'll—"

"MIYAGI!"

The last thing Shinobu heard was the car screeching and a loud explosion. He felt a shot of pain course through his chest by a sudden impact then everything went black. After that he woke in a white room, heart rate monitor beeping and dextrose needle stuck to his arms. He had bandages on his forehead, neck and arms. He tried to move, checking if all limbs were there. Relieved he propped himself up and waited for a nurse to assist him when he remembered Miyagi. He somehow felt a dreaded feeling coming down on him. He clutched his chest, trying to figure out what made it hurt like hell.

With everything left of his strength he tried to get off the bed and find Miyagi's hospital room when a nurse had came to see him, "oh good, Takatsuki-sama, you're awake! Let me check your heart rate monitor" she said gently, walking over to said device. She took down a few notes in her clipboard and smiled, "seems like everything is fine, oh and look! Dr. Ootori's here"

Shinobu had no chance to ask the young nurse about Miyagi so before the doctor could have spoken, he immediately asked for his condition, "I was with someone! Where is he? Will he be okay?"

Somehow the smile on the doctor's face was wiped away and replaced with a frown, "I'm deeply sorry to have to be the one to deliver the news but sadly, he did not make it…"

Shinobu kept quiet, hands clenching into tight balls as he waited for somebody to yell out, 'that was just a joke!' or Miyagi walking into the room with a goofy smile on his face, a few scrapes on his otherwise perfectly healthy body. Sadly nothing came and the silence only took a toll on the already shaken Shinobu.

"no" was all he could whisper,

"Shortly after help had arrived we found Mr. Yoh Miyagi's naked body covering yours. All his clothes were wrapped around you, securing heat as he was the only one conscious between both of you. He kept you alive, Takatsuki-sama—"

"NO!" Shinobu exclaimed quite loudly, "NO! You bastard! NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE! MIYAGI!" he struggled, forgetting about the pain as he squirmed his way out of the nurse's firm grasps, "MIYAGI! WHERE ARE YOU?! SOME ASSHOLE DOCTOR SAYS YOU'RE DEAD! MIYAGI! COME ON! THIS ISN'T FUNNY"

Risako, who had just arrived with their father had heard his little brother's tantrums down the hall and couldn't help but rush to the room he was in. She didn't know what to do but stand there and look at her helpless kid brother as he thrashed wildly about, two nurses already settling him down. Their father could do nothing but scold those passer-bys to call for more help. Risako felt herself crying, heartbroken at the site as Shinobu helplessly called for Miyagi over and over again.

The dextrose was long gone and the heart rate monitor lay with a crack on the floor, "I'll kill myself! I'll kill myself unless you tell me that Miyagi is here and alive somewhere! MIYAGI! C'MON YOU BASTARD! THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!"

Risako walked over to her brother and slapped him, eyes red from crying, she had somehow gotten him to stop, "Enough already! He's gone okay?! GONE!"

"No! He's not! If he is I'll die with him right here right now!"

She slapped him again, this time, even harder. Shinobu's tears had started falling, each one after another, no pause and no breaks. It flowed like water fall on his face as he sobbed loudly, "please don't make it harder than it already is, don't let his sacrifice be in vain… please…"

"…he might be happy with sensei now."

She didn't know if, along those loud weeping, Shinobu had heard a word of what she said. The silence from the others went on as the only noise they could hear was Shinobu's diminishing sobbing and the hospital noises outside of the room. For moment… just for a moment. Everything was stranded in time and the only thing Shinobu could hear was Miyagi's last words over and over again.

"I'm sorry… I love you…"

He whispered gently, resuming the task he had been doing earlier. Looking for a spare coin. Any coin.

"Shinobu… let's go home"

"But I have to call Miyagi… I want to forget about him yelling at me and just listen to his sweet, gentle voice"

Risako fought back the tears as she saw his little brother take out a coin from a pocket inside his satchel. As he sniveled silently, he dialed Miyagi's personal phone number and listened to the machine for the 24th time.

"Stop torturing yourself. How could you live with the thought that he'd never answer any of your phone calls anymore? Stop it. Let's go home. Please?"

"I will never stop doing this. I will never tire of calling him over and over again if it meant hearing his voice that wasn't screaming or mad or..."

They stood in silence, the booth door opened as the snow gently fell atop Risako's umbrella, "I'm sorry… I love you…" he said, putting the receiver down with a click.

'I will never ever stop loving you or start to forget like you did with her. I will never move on. Not now, not ever. I love you… every part of you. I love you more knowing that you'd never let me die in cold or leave me. I love you Miyagi, I do. I always have. I don't regret anything. I don't regret meeting you or falling in love with you, In fact, the only thing I regret right now, is the fact that I could've said all this instead of hurting you. I could've said I love you. You would've been happy at least, won't you?'

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**A/N**: I will not lie. I got sad when I read it again. Stupid, past me—writing tragic stories and shit. Ack! My feels, my feels are spilling everywhere.

Reviews would be very nice and much appreciated.


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